---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Not everybody is strong enough to endure…"
description: "\"Not everybody is strong enough to endure life without an anesthetic. Drink probably averts more gross crime than it causes.\" — George Bernard Shaw"
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/836/george-bernard-shaw-68_anesthetics_not-everybody-is-strong-enough-to-endure_2233120.png"
---

#  Not everybody is strong enough to endure life without an…

![“Not everybody is strong enough to endure life without an anesthetic. Drink probably averts more gross crime than it causes.” quote by George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/836/george-bernard-shaw-68_anesthetics_not-everybody-is-strong-enough-to-endure_2233120.png)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/836/george-bernard-shaw-68_anesthetics_not-everybody-is-strong-enough-to-endure_2233120.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/836/george-bernard-shaw-68_anesthetics_not-everybody-is-strong-enough-to-endure_2233120.png)

> “Not everybody is strong enough to endure life without an anesthetic. Drink probably averts more gross crime than it causes.”

[George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/)

## About This Quote

This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation.

Life without pain relief is hard; painkillers prevent more crime than they cause.

**In simple terms:** Pain relief is vital despite risks.

Key Takeaway

Balance pain management and safety.

Themes

health ethics crime

Mood

critical thoughtful

Type

philosophical ethical

When to use this quote

- medical treatment
- legal policy
- public health
- criminal justice

Key Concepts

pharmacology societal impact

Questions to Reflect On

- Is pain relief always justified?
- How to weigh benefits versus societal costs?

A Different Perspective

Overreliance on medication can cause dependency.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[Anesthetics](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/anesthetics/) [Beauty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/beauty/) [Crime](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/crime/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Strong enough](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/strong-enough/)

## Related quotes

> [I need the anesthetic qualities of the local fire water.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-bourdain/i-need-the-anesthetic-qualities-of-the-local-fire-water/)

[Anthony Bourdain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-bourdain/)

> [Making a record is a lot like surgery without an anesthetic. You first have to cut yourself up the middle. Then you have to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gerard-way/making-a-record-is-a-lot-like-surgery-without-an-anesthetic-you-first/)

[Gerard Way](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gerard-way/)

> [I want my whole life lined with a topical anesthetic.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chuck-palahniuk/i-want-my-whole-life-lined-with-a-topical-anesthetic/)

[Chuck Palahniuk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chuck-palahniuk/)

> [I would not like to live in the past because you don't get anesthetic when you go to the dentist. You don't get antibiotics.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/woody-allen/i-would-not-like-to-live-in-the-past-because-you-don-t-get-anesthetic/)

[Woody Allen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/woody-allen/)

> [If devils exist, their first aim is to give you an anesthetic -- to put you off your guard. Only if that fails, do…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-s-lewis/if-devils-exist-their-first-aim-is-to-give-you-an-anesthetic-to-put/)

[C. S. Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-s-lewis/)

> [Perfume acts as an anesthetic. By the time she floats a little your way, you'll promise her anything.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-hope/perfume-acts-as-an-anesthetic-by-the-time-she-floats-a-little-your/)

[Bob Hope](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-hope/)

> [Why must all of the operations in life be performed without an anesthetic?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-hemingway/why-must-all-of-the-operations-in-life-be-performed-without-an/)

[Ernest Hemingway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-hemingway/)

> [BP CEO Tony Hayward said recently, 'No one wants this thing over more than I do. I'd like my life back.' Tony, I'm so…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/craig-ferguson/bp-ceo-tony-hayward-said-recently-no-one-wants-this-thing-over-more/)

[Craig Ferguson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/craig-ferguson/)

> [With a novelist, like a surgeon, you have to get a feeling that you've fallen into good hands - someone from whom you can…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saul-bellow/with-a-novelist-like-a-surgeon-you-have-to-get-a-feeling-that-you-ve/)

[Saul Bellow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saul-bellow/)

> [“Because there wasn’t anything else to do, he settled at the kitchen table with a bottle of mead and nearly emptied it. The anesthetic…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ann-gimpel/because-there-wasn-t-anything-else-to-do-he-settled-at-the-kitchen/)

Ann Gimpel

> [“She came and took away all his miseries, his sorrows !! Then SHe went and left him restlessly numb. He was her painkiller. SHe,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/self/she-came-and-took-away-all-his-miseries-his-sorrows-then-she-went-and/)

Self

> [“Dentists and surgeons frequently used nitrous oxide as an anesthetic. Travis”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dean-koontz/dentists-and-surgeons-frequently-used-nitrous-oxide-as-an-anesthetic/)

[Dean Koontz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dean-koontz/)

> [With plastic surgery, the general anesthetic is like a black-velvety sleep, and that's what death is - without waking up to someone clapping and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joan-rivers/with-plastic-surgery-the-general-anesthetic-is-like-a-black-velvety/)

[Joan Rivers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joan-rivers/)

> [“For them, the last option was to have brain surgery, which involved removing parts of the skull and exposing the brain. (Since the brain…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michio-kaku/for-them-the-last-option-was-to-have-brain-surgery-which-involved/)

[Michio Kaku](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michio-kaku/)

> [Egotism is the anesthetic given by a kindly nature to relieve the pain of being a damned fool](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bellamy-brooks/egotism-is-the-anesthetic-given-by-a-kindly-nature-to-relieve-the/)

Bellamy BrookS

## More by George Bernard Shaw

> [I love little children too but I don't cut off their heads and stick them in vases.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/i-love-little-children-too-but-i-don-t-cut-off-their-heads-and-stick/)

[George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/)

> [Blasphemy and sedition (meaning the truth about Church and State).](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/blasphemy-and-sedition-meaning-the-truth-about-church-and-state/)

[George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/)

> [In the arts of life, man invents nothing; but in the arts of death he outdoes Nature herself, and produces by chemistry and machinery…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/in-the-arts-of-life-man-invents-nothing-but-in-the-arts-of-death-he/)

[George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/)

> [“My religious convictions and scientific views cannot at present be more specifically defined than as those of a believer in creative evolution. I desire…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/my-religious-convictions-and-scientific-views-cannot-at-present-be/)

[George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/)

> [What a man believes may be ascertained, not from his creed, but from the assumptions on which he habitually acts.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/what-a-man-believes-may-be-ascertained-not-from-his-creed-but-from/)

[George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/)

> [You are my inspiration and my folly. You are my light across the sea, my million nameless joys, and my day's wage. You are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/you-are-my-inspiration-and-my-folly-you-are-my-light-across-the-sea/)

[George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/)

> [Men have to do some awfully mean things to keep up their respectability.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/men-have-to-do-some-awfully-mean-things-to-keep-up-their/)

[George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/)

> [The schoolmaster is the person who takes the children off the parents' hands for a consideration. That is to say, he establishes a child…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/the-schoolmaster-is-the-person-who-takes-the-children-off-the-parents/)

[George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/)

> [As long as I have a want, I have a reason for living. Satisfaction is death.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/as-long-as-i-have-a-want-i-have-a-reason-for-living-satisfaction-is/)

[George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/)

> [The camera can represent flesh so superbly that, if I dared, I would never photograph a figure without asking that figure to take its…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/the-camera-can-represent-flesh-so-superbly-that-if-i-dared-i-would/)

[George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/)

> [A man who is not a communist at the age of twenty is a fool. Any man who is still communist at the age…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/a-man-who-is-not-a-communist-at-the-age-of-twenty-is-a-fool-any-man/)

[George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/)

> [But to admire a strong person and to live under that strong person’s thumb are two different things.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/but-to-admire-a-strong-person-and-to-live-under-that-strong-person-s/)

[George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/)

> [Socialism is the same as Communism, only better English.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/socialism-is-the-same-as-communism-only-better-english/)

[George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/)

> [The person who is ignorant enough to believe that his nourishment depends on meat is in a horrible dilemma.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/the-person-who-is-ignorant-enough-to-believe-that-his-nourishment/)

[George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/)

> [In the arts of peace Man is a bungler.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/in-the-arts-of-peace-man-is-a-bungler/)

[George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/)

[Explore all 1,640 George Bernard Shaw quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/)

## More Anesthetics quotes

> [Why does a man who is truly in love insist that this relationship must continue and be "lifelong"? Because life is pain and the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cesare-pavese/why-does-a-man-who-is-truly-in-love-insist-that-this-relationship/)

[Cesare Pavese](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cesare-pavese/)

> [Printed prose is historically a most peculiar, almost an aberrant way of telling stories, and by far the most inherently anesthetic: It is the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-barth/printed-prose-is-historically-a-most-peculiar-almost-an-aberrant-way/)

[John Barth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-barth/)

> [A preacher was operated on for a hernia. As this was about the time of the first world war he was given ether. As…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/art-linkletter/a-preacher-was-operated-on-for-a-hernia-as-this-was-about-the-time-of/)

[Art Linkletter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/art-linkletter/)

> [Welfare programs as instruments of manipulation ultimately serve the end of conquest. They act as an anesthetic, distracting the oppressed from the true causes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paulo-freire/welfare-programs-as-instruments-of-manipulation-ultimately-serve-the/)

[Paulo Freire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paulo-freire/)

> [The Church has opposed every innovation and discovery from the day of Galileo down to our own time, when the use of anesthetics in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/the-church-has-opposed-every-innovation-and-discovery-from-the-day-of/)

[Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/)

> [If devils exist, their first aim is to give you an anesthetic -- to put you off your guard. Only if that fails, do…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-s-lewis/if-devils-exist-their-first-aim-is-to-give-you-an-anesthetic-to-put/)

[C. S. Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-s-lewis/)

> [There can be no reasonable right to live on sidewalks. Society needs order, and hence has a right to a minimally civilized ambience in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-will/there-can-be-no-reasonable-right-to-live-on-sidewalks-society-needs/)

[George Will](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-will/)

> [It is a curious and painful fact that almost all the completely futile treatments that have been believed in during the long history of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bertrand-russell/it-is-a-curious-and-painful-fact-that-almost-all-the-completely/)

[Bertrand Russell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bertrand-russell/)

> [Perfume acts as an anesthetic. By the time she floats a little your way, you'll promise her anything.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-hope/perfume-acts-as-an-anesthetic-by-the-time-she-floats-a-little-your/)

[Bob Hope](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-hope/)

> [They've bought out a condom now for people with premature ejaculation and they've put an anesthetic in the lining that makes you numb and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frankie-boyle/they-ve-bought-out-a-condom-now-for-people-with-premature-ejaculation/)

[Frankie Boyle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frankie-boyle/)

> [The primary dues a writer or any artist pays is to remain sentient, and to forfeit the illusionary luxury of such anesthetics as avoidance,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vanna-bonta/the-primary-dues-a-writer-or-any-artist-pays-is-to-remain-sentient/)

[Vanna Bonta](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vanna-bonta/)

> [The drug ketamine, used as a 'dissociative' anesthetic, can produce subjective reports of conscious awareness outside the body, as can various other psychoactive drugs.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stuart-hameroff/the-drug-ketamine-used-as-a-dissociative-anesthetic-can-produce/)

Stuart Hameroff

> [Christianity persecuted, tortured, and burned. Like a hound it tracked the very scent of heresy. It kindled wars, and nursed furious hatreds and ambitions.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-santayana/christianity-persecuted-tortured-and-burned-like-a-hound-it-tracked-2/)

[George Santayana](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-santayana/)

> [Why must all of the operations in life be performed without an anesthetic?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-hemingway/why-must-all-of-the-operations-in-life-be-performed-without-an/)

[Ernest Hemingway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-hemingway/)

> [Dear Ones, Beware of the tiny gods frightened men Create To bring anesthetic relief to their sad days](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hafez/dear-ones-beware-of-the-tiny-gods-frightened-men-create-to-bring/)

[Hafez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hafez/)

[Browse all 22 Anesthetics quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/anesthetics/)

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "Quotation",
            "text": "Not everybody is strong enough to endure life without an anesthetic. Drink probably averts more gross crime than it causes.",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "George Bernard Shaw"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/not-everybody-is-strong-enough-to-endure-life-without-an-anesthetic/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Anesthetics"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/not-everybody-is-strong-enough-to-endure-life-without-an-anesthetic/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/836/george-bernard-shaw-68_anesthetics_not-everybody-is-strong-enough-to-endure_2233120.png",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/836/george-bernard-shaw-68_anesthetics_not-everybody-is-strong-enough-to-endure_2233120.png",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/836/george-bernard-shaw-68_anesthetics_not-everybody-is-strong-enough-to-endure_2233120.png",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“Not everybody is strong enough to endure life without an anesthetic. Drink probably averts more gross crime…” — George Bernard Shaw",
                "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
                "creator": {
                    "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
                }
            }
        },
        {
            "@type": "BreadcrumbList",
            "itemListElement": [
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 1,
                    "name": "Home",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 2,
                    "name": "Quotes",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 3,
                    "name": "George Bernard Shaw",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "Not everybody is strong enough to...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/not-everybody-is-strong-enough-to-endure-life-without-an-anesthetic/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/not-everybody-is-strong-enough-to-endure-life-without-an-anesthetic/#breadcrumb"
        },
        {
            "@type": "WebSite",
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website",
            "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/",
            "publisher": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
            }
        },
        {
            "@type": "Organization",
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization",
            "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/",
            "logo": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png",
                "width": 512,
                "height": 512
            }
        }
    ]
}
```
